{"id":11311,"date":"2015-05-18T11:24:32","date_gmt":"2015-05-18T16:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/social.plymouth.k12.in.us\/perspective\/?p=11311"},"modified":"2015-05-22T10:40:28","modified_gmt":"2015-05-22T15:40:28","slug":"giving-back-to-the-plymouth-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/social.plymouth.k12.in.us\/perspective\/?p=11311","title":{"rendered":"Giving Back to the Plymouth Community"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Alicia Sanchez<\/em><\/p>\n

Students at Plymouth High School have opportunities to give back to their community in different ways. Volunteering and donating to charities are two examples of what students can do to help out in Plymouth.<\/p>\n

\"Giving<\/a>

Giving back to one’s community is an act of kindness that has the potential to help people in need. Photo by: Alicia Sanchez<\/p><\/div>\n

The reasons students choose to volunteer are varied. For example, freshman Mikayla Sommers says she volunteers \u201cat Lifeplex whenever I can in exchange for a membership.\u201d Other students volunteer for reasons that may not have any immediate gratification. Junior Amber Gonzales said she volunteers \u201cin the community at Lincoln Jr. High with 5 Star every Tuesday, after school usually from 5:30 to 6 o’clock. I volunteer there because it helps me give back to the community and it also gives me a chance to work with a 7th and 8th grader and help them towards a better future.\u201d Religion can also factor into a person’s decision to volunteer. Senior Stephanie Anderson volunteers because \u201cI like helping other people, and benefiting them.\u201d She said, \u201cI volunteer in the Culver and Knox school systems with a program called Good News Club and we tell kids about Jesus and we have a lot of fun, play games, and learn.\u201d From this, one can conclude that a person’s views determine where and why they volunteer.<\/p>\n

Not only do students volunteer for various reasons, but people all around the world also help others for different reasons. Anderson said that a person might choose to donate to a certain charity \u201cbecause they agree with the cause [it stands for] and they love to do it.\u201d While that is true, Sommers said, they could also \u201cvolunteer because you are helping someone in need, and it makes you feel good.\u201d Either way, Junior Ashley Halsey said, \u201cThe main purpose [of donating and volunteering] is to help the less fortunate. Those who help are important because they help people in need.\u201d They are all probable motivations for a person’s decision to volunteer and donate.<\/p>\n

One may ask himself or herself if he or she helps the community enough. Gonzales said, \u201cI think most of Plymouth does a good job at giving back to the community, but I know there are many people that refuse to do anything for the community.\u201d Sommers proposed a solution to this by saying, \u201cFlyers, posters, radio ads are really useful ideas that we can use to encourage our community [to give back].\u201d Halsey agrees and said that the Plymouth community could try \u201cgetting the word out and telling people.\u201d Junior Molly Spencer said that people in Plymouth should<\/i> volunteer at least once but they don\u2019t have<\/i> to. She went on to say, \u201cYou don’t have to volunteer, but even volunteering once is good. If you do it more than once, it\u2019s awesome. You don’t have a certain amount of times you should volunteer.\u201d She added onto that by saying, \u201cI don’t believe you have to, but if you want to donate: donate as much as you want. Every penny counts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Riley Dance Marathon is a fundraiser at Plymouth High School to allow people to donate to Riley Children’s Hospital. Photo by: Alicia Sanchez<\/p><\/div>\n

Volunteering and donating are not the only ways one could give back to their community. Sommers said, \u201c[A person] could volunteer out at the park, museum, and many other places.\u201d Local food pantries and churches are also possible volunteering locations. Adding onto that, Gonzales said, \u201c[A student could try] doing service in the park, helping out at the dog park, or helping your neighbors with outside work.\u201d Spencer simply said that students could try to help others by \u201cdoing nice things. Just random acts of kindness.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are opportunities to help the Plymouth community for students who are willing to help. All one must do is try.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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